Investigation Committee working on a Nuremberg Trial for Saakashvili
Author: Dmitri Steshin
Source: Komsomolskaya Pravda, No. 193, December 24, 2008, p. 4
[The interim results of an investigation into the Georgian Army’s
crimes in South Ossetia have been released by the Investigation
Committee at the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian
Federation. The question of establishing a special judicial body
for the events in South Ossetia will be considered.]
Russian investigators report on the Georgian Army’s crimes in South Ossetia
The interim results of an investigation into the Georgian
Army’s crimes in South Ossetia were released on December 23 by the
Investigation Committee at the Prosecutor General’s Office of the
Russian Federation.
A team of investigators and experts from the Russian
Prosecutor General’s Office spent about a week touring Tskhinvali
and its outskirts. They questioned local residents and prisoners
of war, and participated in exhuming the bodies of Ossetians who
were killed and buried in their own yards. They recorded
outrageous cases such as an incident where soldiers opened fire on
a car carrying women and children. The investigators then spent
almost four months processing the materials they had gathered.
The results of this investiation were released to the public
on December 23 in the form of a White Book. But many materials
still remain “off screen” – destined for the court-room. This was
confirmed at a press conference by Investigation Committee
Director Alexander Bastrykin: “After the investigation is
complete, the question of establishing a special judicial body for
the events in South Ossetia will be considered. After the
investigation, all materials will be handed over to the Foreign
Ministry of the Russian Federation. The Ministry will present them
to the international community. Documents have already been found
proving that Georgia started preparations for its act of
aggression as far back as 2005.”
The investigation revealed some sensational news. There has
been a great deal of speculation about foreigners participating in
the attack on South Ossetia. Now these rumors have been confirmed:
in the village of Achebeli, investigators found photographs, note-
pads, uniforms, and insignia from a Ukrainian nationalist
organization, UNA-UNSO.
They also established that an “international” diversionary
group participated in the storming of Tskhinvali. It included
citizens of Turkey, the United States, and the Czech Republic.
The White Book will soon be translated into English.
Translated by InterContact